


The Mountain

by StairsWarning



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, gay mermaid, i tried to make the end gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 08:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12339015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StairsWarning/pseuds/StairsWarning
Summary: Steph is tired, scared, and confused as to where she is. But then, she finds it. The place.The mountain.





	The Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> uuurrrgh i havent posted in so long!! This is extremely family friendly mainly because this was for a school assignment originally, but i decided to post it cause i dont want it forgotten or lost.  
> plus i havent uploaded in a long-ass time. whoops. hopefully i can get something out, even if its weird original fiction.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Steph cried, tears running down her face as she ran, her feet moving as fast as they could to the only place she knew she would be safe. The woods.

“GET BACK HERE YOU--” Her father’s expletive was thankfully blocked out over the crunching of leaves under Steph’s feet. Her tears blurred her vision as she stumbled around the woods, trying to make quick time and taking a shortcut. The sun was setting, though, so she only had a few short hours to get where she needed to go. 

Her breath came out in short puffs in front of her face, translucent clouds from the fall chill. Small sobs and hiccups still jumped their way out of her throat as she marched on toward her secret hideaway, growing steadily quieter. Her pace slowed to a crawl as she began to recognize the lack of familiarity in the trees around her.  _ Well, I’d have to be close,  _ she thought, turning right deeper into the woods.  _ I guess I kinda recognise these trees… Maybe just a bit farther. _

‘Just a bit farther’ turned into turning left, and then left again, then to a right, none of which leading to her hidden treehouse. The darkness began to take over the somewhat familiar terrain piece by piece, covering any obvious landmarks and any distant familiarities. 

After about three hours of near wandering, Steph stopped. She was tired, hungry and cold, and with the darkness fast approaching, her lack of a flashlight was starting to really take a toll on overall visibility. She took a deep breath... in and out.

“Well,” She began to reason, “I have stuff at the treehouse, so if I make it back to somewhere that makes sense, or if I get to the city again, things’ll make sense. I’ll be good. Yes.” She smiled, finally put at ease. She then picked a direction and knew that she would have to get somewhere if she just kept walking. She continued forward. 

The cold October air was beginning to bite through her thin jacket, goosebumps rising on her arms. The back of her neck pricked, almost as if something were watching her. She spun around, eyes wide with fear. 

“Who-who’s there?!?” Steph looked around the surrounding forest, her sight only penetrating about a ten-foot radius around her. Her heartbeat began to rise dramatically, her fight-or-flight instincts telling her to turn around and  _ run. _

But, she was brave. She stayed, listening intently. The rustling of the leaves around her helped her out none, her over-anxious ears hearing a low growl from the bushes. Her brain told her to stay put.  _ Wolves don’t attack still prey, right? Or are those just dinosaurs or whatever? _

She turned and ran.

Her blood was singing with adrenaline, her arms and legs pumping as fast as they could, hopefully pushing her away from the threat at hand. Her thoughts raced as she struggled to think of possible ways to  _ get out get out get out!!! _

Her breath started to falter as she saw a speck of light in the distance, and Steph went even faster, the evil behind her even closer, its breath seemingly at her ears. Her feet pounded against the ground heavily against the pine needles and fall leaves, faster and faster and  _ faster, _ light getting brighter and brighter and  _ closer until _ -

Light.

A breath of fresh air. A wide lake stretched across the land in front of her, distant mountains towering in the distance. A meadow spreaded the distance between the mountains and the edge of the forest across the lake, deer grazing peacefully. She stepped forward cautiously, peering back into the forest behind her, wondering if she had somehow transported to some magical place. There were no mountains near her town, so how could this one be here?

She walked quietly across the weirdly green and lush grass, little cloverbuds scattered about. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears and the swell of the lake water pushing against the shore. Her gaze lingered on the base of the mountain, a small cave opening poking its way out through the stony base. 

Her feet landed on the shoreside with a silent crunch of the sand, her feet absentmindedly leading her to the small boat waiting on the shore. For  _ her, _ it seemed. The small raft bumped the shore occasionally, tethered down by a small post shoved into the cold sand. The boat seemed to beckon her forward, the bow of the boat pointed right at the mountain’s base. _ More of a canoe, really,  _ she thought, standing next to it.

“Jesus Christ what in the world am I doing right now.” Steph mumbled to herself as she cautiously stepped into the boat, pushing off at the same time. She grabbed the paddle, pushing into the shallow water and sand to get going. 

The night got darker and darker until the only illumination was from the moon, stars, and various groups of lightning bugs hovering around. A grin was plastered on Steph’s face, her eyes struggling to capture everything that was going on. Dragonflies hovered around her boat, always flying off towards the mountain. Her breath quickened as she got closer to it, her head buzzing.  _ Something about that mountain,  _ she thought,  _ I need to know. _

She paddled her canoe faster, disturbing the clear-as-glass water, large movements under the surface catching her eye… Almost human-like. Fear ran through her like lightning, and she had no idea if she should paddle faster, or not at all.  _ If that thing wanted you dead, it would have killed you by now. _ Dark but realistic, she kept going. 

Halfway across the lake and Steph began to feel watched again, but somehow knew it wasn’t just her nerves this time. She could feel it. The gentle noise of something breaking the surface came from behind her, and she heard a light giggle. Steph took a deep breath and slowed the canoe down to a near stop. She turned. A girl’s head was partially stuck out of the water, just high enough to talk. She seemed to be about Steph’s own age, late teens or so. Her dark brown hair was sheared roughly short. She smiled, her slightly sharper than Steph’s own, teeth showing brightly.

“So,” she started, confident in herself, “you’re the girl everyone’s talking about then, huh? No wonder it’s so busy around here.” She rolls her eyes, almost as if she’d been trying to get away from it. Steph furrowed her brows.

“I’m sorry, what’d’you mean everyone’s talking about me? I just got here!” Panic started to rise anew, terrifying thoughts running through her head at a million miles an hour.  _ What if they’re gonna kill me? Oh god, will anyone even look... or will there be nothing to find?? Oh god oh god oh god… _

“Oh, will you relax? Sheesh, I can hear you panicking from all the way over here!” The girl laughed, trying to put on both the air of being too good for Steph, while also trying to calm her down. “I’m Sheena, by the way.” Sheena swam closer with an ease that even Michael Phelps would envy. She floated next to the canoe, sticking one finned arm out from under the water to shake hands. 

_ Wait. What? _

Steph ignored her panic and decided to be polite as well, hoping not to get dragged into the water. She took Sheena’s hand firmly, her cold, smooth hands somehow a comfort amidst all the difference. 

“I’m Steph. How d’you know who I am, anyways?” Steph released her grip on the probably-mermaid’s hand (her fifth grade self would have been dying of happiness if she were here right now) and set down the paddle inside her canoe. Sheena lifted her upper body up slightly on the canoe, crossing her arms and laying her head down gently. She sighed, absentmindedly staring at the mountain. It’s energy seemed to fill the whole area.

“Everyone knows who you are, in some way. You’re the one that got away, that came back, and that will get away again, no matter what.” She sighs, tapping the canoe rhythmically. “No matter what we tell you, apparently, you will still go. And isn’t that sad?” She turns now to face Steph head-on, a fire lit beneath her eyes. “I’m a goddamned mermaid, I’m friends with faeries and centaurs, and some random human thinks they’re too cool?” She huffed a sigh, turning back to the mountain. “I’ve never left our little enclosure. That mountain decides our fate, dear Steph,” She slid off the canoe gracefully, swimming behind the boat now. “And today is your lucky day.” Without warning Sheena propelled the canoe forward straight into the mountain. Steph hung onto the sides of the boat, feet wide and ready to jump out at a moment's notice.

“Sheena, I think you’re going too fast!” Steph yelled back into the water, Sheena’s tail glistening beneath the surface. Her head bobbed up just long enough to utter the scariest thing Steph had heard all night.

“That’s the point!” 

The canoe sped along the water’s surface, reaching the shore quicker and quicker, until-

**_CRASH._ **

Steph stepped out of the wreckage of the canoe gently, waving at the increasingly distant form of Sheena.  _ I guess I’m all alone now. _ She took a deep breath and faced the mountain wearily. The cavern inside seemed to almost glow, beckoning her in. So, she conceded. 

As she stepped into the cave, she realized it was much brighter than out on the lake- and that was no trick of the eye, either. There were beautiful dark blue crystals lining the walls and the ceiling, leading Steph down the corridor. Once she hit the end, the room went dark. Panic began to well in her throat, but at that moment she felt truly calm. A voice seemed to permeate in her skull, echoing down the dark chambers of the cave.

_ You are here for a reason, young one. You were destined. _

“For what?” As the question came out of her mouth, her unspoken confusion had seemed to well up in those words. “Why am I special?” 

_ You ask the wrong questions to the wrong person. No one asks to be the chosen one, and yet, there they are. There you are. I can tell you have questions, though, child, and I wish to answer some of the more reasonable ones. _

“What am I here for, and why do I leave?” Her eyes searched through the empty room as if she could pinpoint the voice.

_ Who said you had to leave? _

“Sheena did.” Indignant in her tone, Steph became slightly embarrassed. “I don’t know what to believe here.”

_ Oh, that girl had better learn to keep her mouth shut one of these days. The tale she told you is one of pessimism, and one that also implies that you never return. And you are always welcome, dear one. _

“That leads me to another question- where are we?”

_ Well, where do you think we are? _

“Well, see, I don’t know! I have no clue.” Angry tears welled up in her eyes, her fists clenched to try to keep them in. “It’s like Narnia or something, okay?”

_ It’s quite alright that you don’t know, child. You will know soon enough. _

“What will I know?” Steph said, looking up, expecting to see more darkness, but instead coming face to face with some sort of glyph, shapes and symbols littered across it.

_ I do love to be coy, but I can see that you’ve noticed the big surprise. That, my child, is they key to clairvoyance- and you are the one that has the honor of unlocking that darn gate into the next plane of knowledge.  _

“...You’ve gotta be kidding me, right?” Steph laughed, but the more she looked, the more it somehow made sense.  _ My god, it makes sense _ . “It-it makes sense! Oh my god!”

The power from the mountain seemed to flow into her, almost as if she had gained a new limb. Her eyes were opened, and she saw. 

She saw.

The trip out of the cave was a light haze to Steph, filled with new knowledge. Once she stepped out, she saw Sheena resting by the shore, watching the sun rise. She turned to look at Steph warily.

“So…” She sighed, facing towards the pinkish-orange sky. “You’d better get going now, I’d guess?”

Steph smiled and sat on the sandy shore next to her, taking her shoes off and dipping them in the cool lake water. “I think it’d be alright if I stayed here for a bit.” She turned her head over to Sheena, an almost ghostly pale blue line drawn from herself to Sheena.  _ Destiny. _ “It’d be cool to get to know everybody, and why not learn from the best?” 

Sheena smirked right back, flipping her tail proudly in the water. “Oh, and you’ve got a lot to learn, Steph. Just you wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> should i continue this or no? please leave a comment! thank you!!


End file.
